Looe's controversial 20p 'card only' public toilets see people trying to 'force entry'

A tourist town has introduced yet another controversial 'card only' charge to use its toilets as people continue to kick off at staff over the changes. Looe has five public toilet blocks in total and now visitors need to pay to use two of them.

The toilets at Millpool Long Stay Car Park and East Looe are both subject to a 20p charge. But the inability to pay by cash in particular has riled people with even Looe Town Council saying changes to the systems led to verbal complaints against staff last summer.

Despite this the town council says it is simply the "fairest way" to pay for improvements and rising operating costs of the toilets and has explained why it won't allow people to pay by cash. It also said it can't rule out future charges at other facilities in the town as costs continue to soar.

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Looe Town Council first agreed to introduce charges at the Millpool car park toilets in 2022 and all the other facilities were provided for public use free of charge.

The same entry charges have, however, been introduced at the seafront toilets in East Looe ahead of the 2024 season. The facilities at the Guildhall, West Looe Quay and Hannafore remain free to use but the council says they are not safe from potential charges in the future, "particularly if operating costs continue to rise".

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At the time of the changes to Millpool the council said only 15 formal complaints were made although there were lots of questions about why the decision was taken. At the end of last summer it admitted staff continued to get "verbal complaints from visitors about paying an entry fee to the toilets" and said there were also instances of the alarms sounding when people tried to "force entry" through the gates.

It acknowledged that most complaints have been about having to use a card instead of cash, rather than about the amount of the fee. It also pointed out that accessible toilets are still free to use at all of the sites by those with RADAR keys which it has no plans to stop.

But people still aren't impressed with the charges with one calling the system "next level financial discrimination". Another said it would cause "bloody chaos" with concerns about an increase in public defecation. "What a sad world we have created," said another. "Toilets should be free to all and especially not only available to people with a credit or debit card."

Addressing some of the recent concerns the council explained it implemented a card and contactless payment system to deter any potential break-ins and vandalism and because it did not have enough resources to be collecting and banking cash. It said: "Residents of Looe who use our facilities regularly can purchase a pre-paid card from the library which provides 30 entry credits per month."

Of the 20p fee, it said: "We looked at the fees being charged elsewhere and particularly in other Cornish seaside towns. Where fees are being charged, this varied from 20p to 50p and Looe Town Council agreed to introduce charges at the lower figure. We continue to run some free-to-use facilities at less busy sites and to provide accessible toilets at all our sites for those with RADAR keys."

A spokesperson added: "The public toilets in Looe were devolved from Cornwall Council in 2015 and many of the buildings and fittings were in a poor state at that time. The toilets would have been closed then if the town council had not taken on their management.

"The running costs have always been a significant part of council expenditure to the point that we are not able to maintain them to a reasonable standard without additional income. Council believes that the fairest way to pay for necessary improvements and increased operating costs is to ask users of the facilities to pay a nominal charge."

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